Yavallo 2021

I love the 2021 Yavallo, which has a faintly reductive character and is pale, nuanced, flinty and stony, with a core of decayed flowers and leaves that is very attractive and characterful. It's a blend of 65% Bastardo, 30% a field blend of local varieties and 5% white Doña Blanca from the village of Villadepara, from vines that are planted on red schist soils with an east facing exposition and deliver delicate wines. It fermented with full clusters, with a very soft vinification and long maceration, very much à la Comando G, and it matured in 700-liter barrels and glass demijohns for one year, followed by one more year in amphorae. This has a moderate 12% alcohol and is light- to medium-bodied, with very good freshness, denoted by a low pH of 3.12 and 5.7 grams of acidity. It's textured, has very fine and elegant tannins and is very pleasant, with a velvety tactile sensation and a focused, clean and pungent finish. This is stunning. Some 1,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in February 2024. (Luis Gutiérrez)